Employee engagement is not working; it’s just a minor rebranding of what we used to call employee motivation 50 years ago. Most writing on employee engagement talks about old ideas like role clarity, career development, recognition, empowerment and listening to employee suggestions.
Listening to employee ideas comes close to real engagement but it is too passive and it leaves it up to employees to raise issues, which are often complaints that need addressing. This is not real engagement. Besides, most employees are intimidated by executives who are sensitive to criticism and are obsessed with being right.
Some writers talk about involving employees in decisions but there is little guidance on how to do this. Engagement, as it is usually defined, includes wanting employees to feel a sense of commitment to the organization’s vision. But this is a top-down request so, again, not real engagement. Genuine engagement must involve employees in making decisions, including strategic decisions and innovation.
The key to real employee engagement is to use a wide selection of questions of the form “What do you think?” to actively draw ideas out of employees. The objective is to engage them in creating shared ownership of decisions and plans. This gives employees a full stake in what needs to happen. Too many leaders fail in this effort because they like to make decisions themselves and dictate, or sell, them to their teams.
Why Engagement is so Difficult
- First, organizations are hierarchies of authority where the boss is expected to have the answers. Further, they relish the authority to call the shots. I worked with an executive who had a naturally engaging style. After he started a more senior role in a new organization, I asked him how it was going. He said he went around to his new direct reports individually and asked them questions of the form: “What do you think?” For example: “What do you see as the main issues here?” and “What do you see as potential solutions?” An old timer said to him “Do you want me to tell you how to do your job?” This story proves how deeply ingrained is the belief that the boss should make decisions and not engage team members in deciding what to do.
- Second, there is also the old metaphor of “head” and “hands”. We still use the term “department head” or refer to the head of a function or an organization but we don’t often still think of employees as “hired hands” but the metaphor still infects many organizations: the idea that the “head” thinks and the “hands” do. In addition, leadership has long implied “getting things done through people” which has traditionally meant delegation, as in heads decide and hands do. But now that employees are more educated and want more control over their work, delegation is not enough. Leaders need to engage the brains of employees and the best way to do that is to ask them what they think are possible solutions to problems.
- Third, too many leaders love being “solution generators.” They rose through the ranks by developing solutions to problems and they enjoyed it. They like to win and developing great solutions is as much fun as scoring goals in sports. It’s hard to shake off this mentality, especially if generating solutions plays to their signature strengths. However, it is critical to recognize that, when you provide your own solutions, you are essentially operating as an individual contributor albeit one with authority. The option is to be a facilitator. Drawing solutions out of others is real leadership because your aim is to get the best out of others by tapping into their brains. We can call this engaging leadership.
Creating an Engaging Culture
Nothing is more motivating than feeling a sense of achievement, especially when it is also recognized by your colleagues. Deep engagement creates a feeling that is akin to running your own business in that you can see what a difference your efforts make and you feel that you are recognized for your work.
Asking people what they think are viable solutions to problems is a deep form of empowerment, not the superficial license to make decisions in your own work, but the power to influence the direction of your whole team. Encouraging team members to offer their ideas gives them informal leadership opportunities, which is highly empowering, motivational and developmental. When others adopt your suggestions, you feel a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the outcome. Engagement this deep motivates you to do all you can to make your ideas work for the team and the broader organization. Employee ownership for results is the goal of deep engagement.
How to Really Engage Employees
- Ask: “What do you think?” (avoid offering your solution first)
- What do you see as potential solutions to this problem?
- What options are there? What are the pros and cons of your suggestion?
- What is a creative or innovative way we can deal with this issue?
- How does your suggestion impact our clients, our long-term goals or other things?
- What can we do that will support our organization’s strategy or vision?
- What do you think you (we) can do to make this happen?
2. Ask: “What do you want?” out of their careers
- What aspects of your work do you enjoy the most?
- What are some different things you’d like to do?
- What new things would you like to learn about or be exposed to?
- What are some of your longer-term ambitions?
- What do you think you can do to develop yourself?
3. Celebrate success
- Use 30 minutes in occasional regular team meetings to let team members cite 3 things they have done that they are most proud of.
- Hold occasional success celebration meetings where team members can say more about what they have achieved.
- Start all performance review meetings with team members talking about their successes since the last review.
- Empowering team members to celebrate their own successes in a public forum for all of their colleagues to hear may be more powerful than a pat on the back from the boss.
4. Performance Reviews
- STOP telling team members what they need to do differently.
- ASK them what they think they can do differently in future. When offering tips, express them as “What do you think? questions such as: “How do you think X would work instead of Y?”
- When they place blame on others for setbacks, ASK: “What could you have done to have avoided that setback? What would you do next time?” “What do you see as the advantages of doing X rather than Y?” The most important performance related question is “What do you think you could do differently next time?”
By asking team members what they would do differently to improve their performance, you are fostering accountability and empowerment. When you tell them what to do, you’re feeding them fish. When you ask them what they might do differently, you’re teaching them to fish. Getting mental work done through others is leadership. When you offer your own suggestions, you are operating as an individual contributor. When you make all the decisions, you are asking your team members to abdicate their own thinking abilities. How disempowering is that?